Bills could aid roads without raising taxes

Thursday

May 3, 2007 at 8:09 AMMay 3, 2007 at 8:29 AM

Drive along any highway in Louisiana and it doesn’t take long to realize that infrastructure is one of our state’s most-pressing needs. During the upcoming legislative session, we have the opportunity to dedicate millions of dollars in funding to fix our road problems without raising taxes.

Senate Bill 52 by Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, and House Bill 165 by Rep. Joel Robideaux, and Independent from Lafayette, would put annual motor-vehicle sales-tax collections into a trust fund to be allocated back to local parishes for highway repairs. Local governments would get the funding they need to complete road projects, and according to Federal Highway Administration estimates, we could generate nearly 13,000 jobs in the process.

Each year, $273 million in motor-vehicle sales taxes is deposited into the general fund for state government operating expenses. Local governments, however, have a hard time completing highway projects because they do not have the necessary money. The state is flush with cash and doesn’t need any more money. Wouldn’t common sense dictate that we dedicate motor-vehicle sales-tax collections to road repairs instead of placing the money in the general fund for the bureaucracy to spend as it wishes?

State Treasurer John KennedyBaton Rouge

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